Couple more photos of Dolly the proud Mum

Just had to show these couple photos of Dolly & how well she has come through the birth & is being a very accomadating Mum to her 7 pups. We have now moved her from the kitchen were I whelp them in & she is in are bedroom which is quite & can be easily kept at an ambient temperature. I keep the Mums & pups here normally for the first week to 10 days. 
This time of year I use a little low cost oil field radiator to keep the room at a constant warm temperature & I am for the first time useing microwaveable heat pads which last for 5 hours at a time at a constant temperature, so will let you know how I get on with them, as have never used electric pads as always worried about Mum digging up bed & maybe electrocution or burning if thermastat goes wrong. In deepest winter if we have pups we will use a heat lamp , but they do eat the electric.
A good way to know if pups are warm & feeding well is noise, if pups are whining constantly this is a good indication that they are cold or they are not getting enough milk. If Mum is a bit warm in with her pups you have probably got them warm enough, as afraid Mum has to suffer a bit in the early days as the heat the pups need can be uncomfortable for her, but be careful not to overheat or that the bitch is panting because she has the first sign of eclampsia which is talked about in a previous blog titled "Eclampsia" 27.07.2010.
The best way to see she is just to hot is to take the Mum outside  & if the panting stops after about five minutes it is just she has got to hot, but if she continues panting or gets worse speak to your vet.
Click on photos below to see full size.